It has now been more than a week since Wajid Khan, a Mississauga MP, left the Liberal Party in favour of a more Conservative political stance.
Elected as a Liberal, Khan crossed the floor without the consent of his constituents in the Mississauga-Streetsville riding. What is perhaps even more distressing, though, is that Khan’s report on the Middle East—which was commissioned to the tune of almost $13,000 of taxpayer money while Khan was a Liberal MP, and originally intended to be made available to all parties—is now being restricted to the Prime Minister’s Office alone.
Khan has been advising Prime Minister Stephen Harper on the Middle East and South Asia since August of last year, even though he was at that time a member of the Liberal party. According to the Toronto Star, “The government paid $12,764.50 for Khan’s 19-day fact-finding mission to the Middle East.”
Spending taxpayers’ money to fund the trip is one thing, but keeping the findings for Conservative eyes only is unacceptable, especially considering Khan’s recent change of heart. The report summarizes events in the Middle East and what Canada can do to help. As promised before the trip took place, the report should be accessible to all parties—Canadians have the right to see what their money is funding. With Khan jumping the Liberal ship, it’s not surprising that those in his riding are feeling betrayed. Even if staying with the Liberals compromised Khan’s morals, his constituents deserve to have a say in his decision as he may no longer stand for the values they chose to vote into power.
Generally speaking, in our current political system most voters cast their ballots based on a party and/or party leader and rarely on the merits of an individual candidate. To quote Jeffrey Simpson in The Globe and Mail last week: “Rightly or wrongly, people in Mississauga-Streetsville ed Mr.Khan because he was a Liberal, not because he was Mr. Khan.”
For a Prime minister who campaigned on a platform of greater ability, this affront to democracy is particularly disappointing and hypocritical.
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